Espeon/ORAS
Eevee is available on Route 116 exclusively as a rare DexNav encounter. It also only appears after Groudon or Kyogre has been defeated. Eevee evolves into via leveling up with high happiness during the daytime. Eevee is one of the more difficult Pokemon to obtain in a Nuzlocke. Perhaps not the most, but it is definitely no walk in the park to acquire. Getting it requires repeling through Route 116, something you might already be doing to avoid a Whimsur encounter, while also getting lucky enough to avoid a Dex Nav encounter. Then after you've nearly completed the game, you'll have to return to Route 116 and attempt to trigger a Dex Nav encounter and pray that it is an Eevee. So if you don't have one and want one, good luck! ...Or do an Egglocke or Wonderlocke. As a normal type, Eevee is a fairly standard addition to the team aside from its infectious cuteness and popularity. It does not have a particularly expansive movepool nor does it have any standout qualities in battle itself. Instead, its main claim to fame is its diverse set of evolutions, all of which are more or less solid Pokemon to have around with their base stat totals of 525, which has them rivaling your fully evolved starter. Espeon, however, does have to compete with a number of contenders as a Psychic-typed Pokemon. Kadabra or Alakazam, Gardevoir, Gallade, Medicham, Lunatone, Solrock, Grumpig, Claydol, Starmie, Chimecho, Xatu, Girafarig, Metagross, and, most notably, Latios and Latias are all at least partially Psychic and are all also available before other potential Dex Nav exclusive encounters are even considered. Not to mention, many of these Pokemon can Mega-Evolve, a trait you might find desirable. And with Espeon being available so, so late, going out of your way to obtain one is a little difficult to justify. Luckily though, if you do go for it, Espeon will not disappoint you. Espeon is quick, it hits hard, and it can take special hits fairly well. While its movepool is modest, it also gets nearly all the coverage it needs to handle most anything it encounters. It also learns a couple of options for supporting your team or setting up a sweep, allowing it to do a bit more than just attack things. Its physical defense is a little on the frail side, so it's something to keep in mind, but Espeon will more than certainly pull its weight on the team. But, if you're setting aside an early route for most of the game just for a shot at an Espeon, well, you more than likely knew what you were getting into to begin with. Important Matchups * Gym #8 - Wallace (Sootopolis City, Water-type): If you're so inclined, Espeon can trivially set up numerous Calm Mind boosts on Luvdisc and sweep the entire gym with little effort, especially if you happen to have Magic Bounce to reflect its status moves. If you're wishing to play a little more fairly though, Luvdisc is, as already made clear, a joke. Sealeo is also fairly safe to take on due to it being not fully evolved and, therefore, only having rather modest offenses. Whiscash and Seaking can be more problematic though as they can hit relatively hard physically if you're not using Reflect. Espeon can take these on as it can dispose of them quickly, but it should certainly bail if things look dicey or if Seaking gets a Rain Dance off due to a combination of Swift Swim + boosted Waterfall. Seaking also packs Horn Drill, so should not be engaged from below level 44. Milotic, Wallace's ace, can be quite difficult to take down, especially if the rain is still up. However, Espeon can take hits if necessary, especially with the help of Calm Mind or Light Screen, to whittle it down or stall out Hydro Pump PP. Once Milotic is out of Hydro Pump, it's only a matter of time before Espeon will take it down, if it hasn't already. * Wally (Victory Road): Wally's lead Altaria should be safe to Espeon to engage or even potentially set-up a Calm Mind sweep on, as its strongest attack hits on Espeon's bulkier side and Aerial Ace is a low BP move coming off an unimpressive attack stat. Delcatty, despite having Feint Attack, should also be a little problem since its offenses are very low, though it can be annoying with Sing if you do not have Magic Bounce. Roselia should not be able to survive a Psychic or Psyshock, but if it does, watch for Leech Seed or Toxic. Magneton resists Espeon's STAB, making fighting it a bit iffier, but it cannot do a whole lot of damage back, especially with Calm Mind or Light Screen available, and Espeon can still use Shadow Ball on it. Watch for Discharge's paralysis though. And finally, Gallade, is a tricky proposition. Shadow Ball will down it quickly, but it hits rather hard on Espeon's weaker defensive side with Slash, which Espeon does not want to take many of. Or any if it gets Swords Dance off. Close Combat is also an ensured 2HKO, or OHKO if it crits, but the A.I. may not pick this move since Espeon resists (but no promises.). Only engage it if you're healthy, have multiple Calm Minds already up, and/or have Reflect and be prepared to switch out. Also, keep in mind, Mega-Gallade ties with Espeon's base speed, so outspeeding isn't a certain thing (more than 120 Speed should do it if the rumors of late game trainers having 20 IVs is true.) * Elite Four Sidney (Ever Grande City, Dark-type): Only if you're desperate AND packing Dazzling Gleam, as Swift won't cut it and Espeon cannot hurt anything here with Shadow Ball or Psychic. This entire battle has Dark-type STABs that hit on Espeon's weaker physical defense and the lead Mightyena even has Sucker Punch to get the jump should you engage it anyway. Avoid this fight if you can and, if unable to, spray Dazzling Gleams and pray while questioning the choices you made that forced you to bring out Espeon into this battle. * Elite Four Phoebe (Ever Grande City, Ghost-type): This is also a dangerous match-up for Espeon, but here it can actually function with high risk and high reward as Shadow Ball hits everything except Sableye hard, who can be shot with Dazzling Gleam, and many Pokemon either have lower Attack or rely on special attacks. Magic Bounce Espeon is especially potent, as it can reflect a lot of annoying status from Phoebe's Pokemon, though Synchronize isn't too shabby either. If you're feeling gutsy, either ability can let you attempt to set-up Calm Mind against the second Banette if you can get it to burn itself. But beyond that, all matches are risky kill or be killed quickly affairs. However, the ace Dusknoir's only STAB is Hex, which is much less dangerous than the other Ghost-type moves if you're cleared of status. * Elite Four Glacia (Ever Grande City, Ice-type): Lead Glalie has both Crunch and Light Screen, so is best left to someone else. Glalie #2, however, doesn't have particularly strong offenses and you can safely engage it or set-up upon it if you so desire. Both Froslass are packing a Ghost STAB. The one with Confuse Ray has Ominous Wind, which shouldn't be too big of a danger and you can even be set-up on if you're feeling ballsy. Froslass #2, indicated by Draining Kiss, can be dangerous as, if it outspeeds and crits with Shadow Ball, it will OHKO Espeon. Unboosted, Espeon can 2HKO it with Shadow Ball if it outspeeds, but this is, of course, risky and should be avoided in favor of safer options. Walrein should not be engaged from below level 54, as it has Sheer Cold for haxy OHKOs. Beyond that, it's a bit of a tanky Pokemon, but Espeon should be able to wear it down and KO it with a little bit of item support. Though do watch for Body Slam paralysis and any Hail damage from it getting set-up earlier in the match. * Elite Four Drake (Ever Grande City, Dragon-type): Dazzling Gleam is very useful in this match-up, so it's recommended you switch Shadow Ball out for it. Altaria is very similar to Wally's, only that it replaces a move with Moonblast, which should not hurt Espeon very much. As such, you can set-up here if you so desire. If Aerial Ace scares you though, you can Calm Mind against Kingdra and Flygon #2, who both only have special attacks, the former of which can hit fairly hard and the latter who works from the weaker offensive stat, so isn't too much of a threat. Flygon #1 hits physically though with moves like Earthquake, so can be a little risky to take on since it'll be a mutual 2HKO with Dazzling Gleam barring crits, though Espeon outspeeds. Salamence should be entirely avoided unless you're in position to down it in a single shot as its Crunch has the possibility to OHKO Espeon. However, Espeon does naturally outspeed, so if you're set-up, you should be safe to destroy it. Or if you're not, Espeon can down it from about 50% with either Dazzling Gleam or Psychic if you can get it in safely. * Champion Steven (Ever Grande City, Steel-type): Skarmory strikes from a decent offensive stat, but its moves lack power, potentially letting Espeon set-up if necessary. However, it may be better to wait, as Toxic will let Skarmory whittle Espeon down and it can also start layering Spikes unless Espeon has Magic Bounce. If you do have bounce though, you can try to use switching to bait Skarmory into dropping layers of Spikes on Steven's team. Turning his hazards is not only hilarious, but also breaks Aggron's Sturdy later in the match. Going for all three layers, however, may not be worth the effort. Now Claydol, however, makes perfect set-up bait for Calm Mind since it cannot hit Espeon hard, allowing you to safely sweep the rest of Steven's team. Do wait for Light Screen to wear off before knocking Claydol out, however. Set-up or not, Aggron's Sturdy means it will survive an attack and retaliate. It will hit hard with Stone Edge, which will most likely OHKO with a crit. As such, engaging it even when set-up is risky, but necessary if you are unable to lure it out before Claydol if you've set-up several Calm Minds. Without set-up, avoid it unless you're certain you can 2HKO with Shadow Ball. And even then reconsider. Cradily, being a more defensive Pokemon with only special attacks, can also serve as a second set-up opportunity should you be leery about risking a Stone Edge. Though mind Confuse Ray if you do not have Magic Bounce. Armaldo will, without a doubt, OHKO with X-Scissor, so should not be engaged without several Calm Mind boosts prior, even if you still do have Reflect. Metagross is in the same boat as it is capable of OHKOing Espeon with either Meteor Mash or Giga Impact, but Espeon can straight-up OHKO if you're boosted enough. Shadow Ball from an Espeon at a four level disadvantage will do just shy of about 40-50% on average, so if you're faster than 146 speed, Espeon can outspeed and KO a weakened Metagross. Though be aware that if Metagross gets an attack boost from Meteor Mash, Bullet Punch will certainly OHKO on a critical and will do so without a critical with two boosts or more. Post-Game * Rival (Route 103): There should be a huge level discrepancy in this battle should you count it as part of your run (which you might not since it's after the credits roll and you get forced healing, which may bring back dead teammates), so there should be no trouble here. Due to this, Espeon should flat out OHKO everything that doesn't resist its STAB or it doesn't miss. But to be on the safe side, watch out for U-Turn from Swellow, Thunderwave and Light Screen from Raichu, Shadow Claw from Blaziken, Night Slash from Sceptile, and physical attacks in general. Moves Eevee is only ever encountered at a lowly level 8, which means it'll have Growl, Tackle, Tail Whip, and Sand Attack as its starting movepool. As the first major battle is Wallace at level 44, much of Eevee's level-up pool is of negligible usefulness. Notable attacks include Swift at level 10, Bite at 17, Double-Edge at 37, and Last Resort at 41 for fighting in its base form. Of those, its evolution will only appreciate Swift and, even then, you'll probably have something better unless you've banned TMs from your run. Eevee also learns situationally useful moves such as Refresh (if you're playing with restricted items), Charm, and Baton Pass. As Espeon, it learns Future Sight at level 25, it's most powerful but trickier to use attack, and Psychic at 37, its most reliable attack in general. Its only natural coverage move is Swift, but this time at 17. Espeon's non-attacking options diversify from Eevee with situational options such as Psych Up at 29, Morning Sun at 33, which is handy for any sort of healing stall even with items enabled since it's cheaper, and Power Swap at 45. As a late game Pokemon, you should have most of the TMs Eevee and Espeon will appreciate. Eevee's best STAB option in Return comes from TM, though by the time you max its power you will have already evolved. All of its other useful moves are also learned by Espeon, who has access to Psyshock, an alternative STAB for bypassing specially defensive Pokemon, Shadow Ball for excellent coverage, and Dazzling Gleam for dealing with Dark types. Espeon can potentially also learn a useful Hidden Power, though this isn't guaranteed. And even then, neutral STAB Psychic hits as hard as Super-Effective HP, so you'd want a type such as Fire, Fighting, or Electric to hit some of the remaining match-ups who resist Espeon's STAB and is neutral to coverage or, in the case of Ice, is really good at killing Flygon, Altaria, and Salamence. Finally, Espeon also can learn Hyper Beam if you're looking to win style points on a KO. Useful set-up and support moves for Espeon also include Calm Mind to boost its powers to scary levels and Double Team if you're feeling lucky enough to abuse Evasion. Espeon can also learn Reflect and Light Screen to support the team and to bolster its own defenses, especially with the former. Espeon can also provide weather support with Rain Dance and Sunny Day, the former being an inferior choice for Espeon since it does not benefit from rain directly, but Sunny Day does boost Morning Sun heals, which can be very useful if you're playing with restricted healing items or Pokemon Center visits. And finally, Espeon can learn the standard suite of non-attacks available to most Pokemon: Protect, Substitute, Toxic, Attract, Swagger, Rest, and Sleep Talk. Recommended moveset: Psychic / Psyshock, Shadow Ball, Calm Mind, Dazzling Gleam / Morning Sun / Baton Pass Other Eevee's stats Espeon's stats * What Nature do I want? Espeon's most preferred natures will either be Modest or Bold. Both reduces its Attack stat, but the former increases Espeon's Special Attack stat allow it to more easily take things down while the latter helps shore up its weaker defensive stat to increase survivability. Any other nature that reduces attack is still handy, though of them, Espeon appreciates Timid the least since there's little it can't outspeed as is. In fact, it's high speed means it doesn't too terribly mind a speed lowering nature, although lowering Attack is preferred. However, if you get a Special Attack reducing nature, not all is lost for your Eevee! It just means you'll want to evolve into Flareon, Leafeon, or Umbreon instead. * Which ability do I want? As Eevee, Adaptability is by far the most useful, though Anticipation can tip you off to a dangerous attack so you can switch. However, you'll spend little time as Eevee, so its ability hardly matters. Synchronize is a decent ability for punishing Pokemon that try to status you or should you get randomly statused from a move such as Scald. Magic Bounce, while much, much more rare, is by far more powerful since it'll reflect all sorts of non-attacks, whether it be Growl, Spore, Confuse Ray, or even Spikes, making Espeon quite useful for status-heavy opponents. If your Eevee has Anticipation, then you'll get Magic Bounce. Otherwise, you'll wind up with Synchronize. * At what point in the game should I be evolved? The sooner the better. Waiting for Refresh and Baton Pass might not be a bad idea depending on the strategy you have in mind or if you're limited on healing, but otherwise you'll want to get Espeon as soon as you can. Fortunately, you can grow a bunch of EV-reducing berries, such as Pomeg, to boost the happiness of your Eevee easily. Roughly 30 of these can take a freshly caught Eevee to Espeon upon its first level-up and large quantities can be obtained fairly easily during the game with a little bit of patience. * How good is Espeon in a Nuzlocke? Espeon is a solid addition to the team and its fast, offensive presence can allow it to take down a number of enemies. Its movepool isn't particularly deep, but it learns everything it needs to function as either a fast attacker or a set-up sweeper with enough coverage to get the job done and a little bit of support for the team, should you need it. Its frail physical defenses can make some match-ups much riskier than ideal without having found a safe victim to set Calm Mind up upon, and its late availability means it misses out on a lot of opportunities to shine. Espeon probably will not be the MVP of your team, but it will most certainly pull its fair share of weight and you will appreciate having it around. Eevee's type matchups: * Weaknesses: Fighting * Resistances: None * Immunities: Ghost * Neutralities: Normal, Flying, Poison, Ground, Rock, Steel, Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Ice, Dragon, Fairy, Dark, Bug, Psychic Espeon's type matchups: * Weaknesses: Dark, Ghost, Bug * Resistances: Fighting, Psychic * Immunities: None * Neutralities: Normal, Flying, Poison, Ground, Rock, Steel, Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Ice, Dragon, Fairy Category:Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire Category:List of Evolutionary Lines with Completed Analyses